Barrhead Travel chief executive Sharon Munro said to TTG that Western Mediterranean was proving popular with bookings this month with Spain up by 28%, Greece up by 37% and Italy by 53%, compared with Turkey which was down 52% and Egypt, down by 89%.

According to him, sales had been quiet between Christmas and New Year, but January so far had improved, with passenger numbers up 20% year-on-year. “Since January 1 things have picked up but it is really patchy, one day it’s strong and then not so strong, ” he commented

The Caribbean is also proving popular, up by 30%, while cruise has also seen a 22% boost.